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As the contingent workforce continues to grow at a rapid pace, employers are faced with the realization that these short-term workers come with their own unique set of requirements. Although this realization is facing employers, they aren’t necessarily taking notice.
A 2012 Organizational Effectiveness Survey revealed that 1/3 of organizations don’t know the total cost of their contingent workforce. When we consider that budgets, spending and money in general are probably going to rank pretty high on most any employer’s priorities list, one has to wonder what else organizations are in the dark about when it comes to their contingent workforce. If no one is tracking these costs, it is safe to assume that they aren’t being optimized for the success of the organization.
Talent and goal alignment isn’t only for long term workers, it is actually the perfect strategy to get contingent workers producing faster, while keeping them on-track and making the most of their time and effort with the company.
Onboarding
Whether the contingent worker is with the company for 3 months or a year, the onboarding process is going to have to be as efficient as it can be in order to get a positive return on your investment in them. If a large portion of the time that they’re with the company is spent onboarding, that leaves little room for what they were actually hired to do.
Paperless
The back and forth of paperwork in the onboarding process can really slow things down. Going paperless with forms as well as signatures (e-signatures) ensures that all information stays in one place.
Pre-Filled Data
How many times on how many different forms does a new worker have to type or write their name, address and social security number? These redundant forms and fields are a waste of everyone’s time and company resources. Smart forms eliminate the need for any information to be entered more than once.
Total System Integration
Gathering data in one form or system, only to have to input it into another system is another huge waste of time that slows down the entire onboarding process. HR needs to be able to seamlessly integrate new hire data with your HRIS, ERO and payroll.
Daily Tracking
With any temporary, seasonal or contracted worker, their time is limited and should be treated so. It is so vital for these workers to experience great communication and strong goal alignment during their short time with the company. Any goal misalignment, big or small, has a larger impact with these contingent workers because their time is so finite.
Transparent Goals
With contingent workers, the reflex is to give them a project and let them work on it. That is completely the wrong reflex. The end goal of a project put into context within the big picture goals of the organization is almost always going to be superior to the results of a task delegated with no context given. All goals, big and small, individual and organizational have to be made clear.
Monitoring Real-Time Progress
Successes and issues both need to be addressed in real-time. Successes have to be acknowledged in order to ensure that the desired behavior or work continues. Issues that aren’t addressed in a timely manner will continue as long as leadership lets them. If they are never aware, that can be the full tenure of a contingent worker and that’s a scary thought.
Accountability
Again, it is vital to give all employees the big picture and identify their role within it. Teams and individuals should be able to see how their goals are connected to the organization’s goals, and execs should be able to see if they are getting the job done. ClearCompany's Employee Onboarding Software can help new employees schedule 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day performance reviews.
Since 1995, the contingent workforce has grown by over 4 million workers, according to CNBC.com. If you aren’t implementing strategic goal alignment within your contingent workforce already, you should know that you’re among the majority, but in this case that’s not where you want to be. As the contingent workforce grows, there will be a strong strategic advantage in investing in goal alignment for such workers.
Please take a demo today to find out more about strategic goal alignment.
Photo Credit: ~C4Chaos via photopin cc
